After 29 years, KMFDM still making new music

When industrial rock first made its entrance into the music scene, KMFDM was there. The industrial scene has had its ups and downs. Bands have come and gone. Fortunately, KMFDM is still here.

Sascha Konietzko and the members of his band KMFDM are the forefathers of industrial rock – the progenitors of a whole breed of rockers who view noise as a valid foundation for songs. KMFDM has been around longer than a lot of musicians in today’s bands have been alive.

But, Konietzko and his crew never grow old. They don’t rest on their laurels -- content to tour playing songs from 20 years ago. KMFDM is still making music that is vital, vibrant and vicious. The logo on the band’s webpage reads “KMFDM -- Over Two & One Half Decades of Conceptual Continuity.”

“KMFDM celebrated its 29th birthday on March 1,” said Konietzko, during a recent trans-Atlantic phone interview from his home in Hamburg, Germany. “And, KMFDM will be around to celebrate its 30th birthday...and its 31st.”

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On March 19, KMFDM return to Philadelphia for a show at the Trocadero. The group began in Hamburg, Germany as “Kein Mehrheit Fur Die Mitleid” (“No compassion for the majority”) which eventually was shortened to the acronym KMFDM.

KMFDM just released its latest album “Kunst” on Metropolis Records. As usual, it hits hard – lyrically and sonically – with songs dealing with politics and other topical issues.

“It took us about a year-and-a-half to make ‘Kunst,’” said Konietzko. “Good things take time. I started out with a number of ideas. Some progressed and some went cold. When it becomes a track, I work on it until the stage when it’s finished. After it’s finished, I’ll go back to it days later to make sure it’s what I wanted.”

The group’s current lineup, which has remained stable for at least seven years, features Lucia Cifarelli on vocals, Steve White on guitar, Jules Hodgson on guitars, Andy Selway on drums and Konietzko on keyboards, bass and programming.

“With Lucia, we push each other -- especially with vocal delivery,” said Konietzko. “We bring out the best in each other. It’s going on 14 years now that we’ve been doing this together.”

“With ‘Kunst’, everything was done from scratch -- except the song ‘Next Big Thing’,” said Konietzko. “Now, after being holed up for 14 months making an album, we want to go out and play.

“We’ll start with rehearsals in Seattle where Jules and Steve live. Then, we’re off on tour -- the West Coast, the South, the East Coast and then the Midwest. We’re doing 22 shows in 23 days.

“Off days can really destroy a tour. The energy drops if you have too much time on your hands. My day on tour is getting up, figuring out where everyone else is, going online and then heading to sound check.”

KMFDM shows are not elaborate productions. No big sets and fancy props -- just powerful music and intense lighting.

“We have a fantastic lighting guy,” said Konietzko. “I like to see bands work and sweat and do their stuff. Shows that are too elaborate get boring.”

KMFDM will be performing on March 19 at 8 p.m. at the Trocadero (10th and Arch streets, Philadelphia, 215-922-ROCK, www.thetroc.com). Tickets are $26.